Entrepreneurship in Biotechnology

This class provides students — scientists and non-scientists alike — with a solid understanding of the issues, strategies, and technologies of the biotech industry. The core of the course is an in-depth analysis of the strategies that companies use to compete in the biotech and healthcare industries. We will understand how companies derive winning (or otherwise) business strategies across the value chain of the pharmaceutical, agbio and healthcare industries. In specialized modules we will examine intellectual property protection issues of the biotech industry, including the challenges of commercializing academically-derived IP. We'll also look at the rising influence of the bioinformatics, genomics and proteomics companies. The final module will examine ethical issues facing the industry, such as organ and tissue farming, genetic screening and biowarfare. An early module on basic biotech science will help the non-scientists in the class to appreciate technical issues. By the end of the class, students should be able to understand and intelligently critique the business and marketing strategies of companies participating in the biotech revolution.